There are numerous cleaning devices that exist in the prior art. Many of which are multi-application in that they may be used on just about any surface although with limited effectiveness. Such cleaning devices may be constructed of a material that allows for multi-application use but lack effectiveness and durability when used on textured or other specialized applications. For example, it is well known that a sponge has very good water retention properties but can quickly wear when used against a textured surface. Further to this example, the various textured surfaces found in a bathroom, highlights the multitude of surfaces that can cause a durability issue with conventional cleaning devices even when used at a single location. While a sponge provides a great benefit in that it is able to retain soap and water, a sponge can further release dirt from an earlier cleaning and the life of the sponge can be quickly shortened if the cleaning surface is textured or includes an unusual build up of gritty dirt. Even a shower has multiple surfaces including smooth tiles as well as textured grout between the tiles. Grout can easily collect bacteria, mold, mildew and other contaminates in the microscopic pores, which resultantly causes a visually unappealing discoloration. While these surfaces can be cleaned with a sponge, a thorough cleaning requires a multitude of cleaning devices capable of handling the various textured and grit embedded surfaces.
The grout found in the tile and/or flooring of a typical bathroom illustrates a difficult surface to clean. Conventional cleaning pads may clean a flat surface but are simply not durable enough and ineffective to handle the grout found in floors, showers and around sinks. The use of a conventional sponge may quickly become a holding area for dirty water. Further, a conventional sponge used on a textured surface is subject to extreme wear and tear. Grout placed within a corner is difficult to clean simply due to the placement. Grout placed between a tile may also be difficult to clean if the tile and grout at different levels. Some known methods of cleaning grout is the use of bleach and a tooth brush. Another known method is the use of Dremel rotary tool. Another known product employs acidic cleaners such as hydrochloric acid. Still other known home remedy combinations include the known use of ammonia & bleach, or ammonia and Comet, either combination of which is capable of releasing a lethal dose of chlorine gas.
Popular cleaning pads include an abrasive surface for addressing the more difficult to clean textured or dirt covered surfaces. Melamine is one such material that includes an abrasive that is effective in the removal of contaminants but in most forms deteriorates and leaves behind a residue. The residue must then be removed by secondary clean-up. Melamine is known to remove unwanted elements without damaging the surface. Despite its ability to efficiently remove unwanted surface elements, it has been found that the length of effective performance is shortened as the melamine wears quickly when moved against a textured surface. As a result, the prior art requires the use of multiple cleaning elements such as sponges, harsh chemicals, abrasive powders, or specialty abrasive members in order to complete a large cleaning job. The prior cleaning implements wear away completely to the point that the cleaning implement itself disintegrates. In large cleaning jobs, the whole implement itself must typically be discarded after a certain amount of use, as the abrasive and/or the absorbent material wears away, perhaps to the point where the cleaning implement itself disintegrates requiring multiple pads to complete the cleaning task.
An additional problem exists when a consumer uses only an abrasive member. The abrasive member may not contain sufficient moisture for lubrication of the surface, resulting in scratches. Use of specialty elements such as melamine causes the consumer to be in direct contact with the element which will likely leave a deposit on the hand of the consumer as it would on the surface of the product. If the consumer's hands are sensitive, direct contact with melamine or other abrasive member may be offensive. Other problems arise because the current cleaning implements do not provide a system capable of accepting various an attachable members, the members being soap pads, bleach pads, melamine pads and the like scrubbing members.
Numerous cleaning implements exist, many of which are patented as implements having an absorbent material, such as a sponge, and/or an abrasive material such as a phenolic or melamine based foam. Examples can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,580; 4,866,806; 4,949,417; 5,187,830; 6,485,822; 6,503,615; 6,857,159; 7,060,119; 7,454,813; 7,629,043 and U.S. Application Publication No. 2005/136238.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,629,043 discloses a cleaning wipe and cleaning product. The cleaning wipe includes a foam layer such as phenolic or melamine based foam that is configured for contacting and cleaning a surface. A reinforcing web is attached to the foam.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,615 discloses a wiping cleaner comprising a porous material of an open-cell structure wherein particles are peeled from the wiping surface by friction.
U.S. Publication No. 2007/0157405 discloses a cleaning implement comprising melamine foam and a perfume source, processes for making them and methods for using them.
U.S. Publication No. 2010/0223748 discloses a cleaning pad system for use on a motorized floor cleaning or polishing machine wherein the pad has melamine resin based foam.
U.S. Publication No. 2007/0061991 discloses a cleaning implement suitable for hard surface cleaning comprising heat-compressed melamine foam.
U.S. Publication No. 2006/0005338 discloses a cleaning implement comprising a layer of melamine foam having water-absorbency.
JPO Publication No. 2002/253471 discloses a washing tool that is constituted of a grip having a forked holding part at one end and of a brush part to be held between the forked holding part so as to be attachable/detachable. The brush part is constituted of water absorbing and expanding materials which absorbs water while irreversibly expanding and of the melamine resin foamed body which is held between the water absorbing and expanding materials and is exposed between the materials.
Thus, what is lacking in the art is a complete cleaning element that combines the benefits of a sponge with a specialty cleaning material which has a most beneficial use in cleaning of grout and provides long lasting durability.